S.C.’s GOP PRIMARY: HIGH STAKES, HIGH TURNOUT
Turnout for the Feb. 19 South Carolina GOP primary was more than double the previous record for the event four years ago. Voter participation was up dramatically in all variety of counties, though proportionately some of the biggest gains were in high-growth counties such as Beaufort (Hilton Head), Horry (Myrtle Beach) and York (across the border from Charlotte, N.C.); places where evangelist Pat Robertson had run well in the 1988 Republican primary; and black-majority counties, where there was a greater effort by the state GOP this year to open polling places for the party-run primary.
| . |
1996 |
2000 |
Change in Primary Turnout from 1996 to 2000 in Percentage Points
|
| STATEWIDE |
276,741 |
565,704 |
Up 104% |
10 Most Populous Counties
(in rank order) |
183,667 |
356,917 |
Up 94% |
| GREENVILLE (Greenville) |
37,467 |
66,849 |
Up 78% |
| CHARLESTON (Charleston) |
25,169 |
47,160 |
Up 87% |
| RICHLAND (Columbia) |
24,492 |
44,270 |
Up 81% |
| SPARTANBURG (Spartanburg) |
18,069 |
37,159 |
Up 106% |
| LEXINGTON (Columbia suburbs) |
23,326 |
45,245 |
Up 94% |
| HORRY (Myrtle Beach) |
12,125 |
27,735 |
Up 129% |
| ANDERSON (Anderson) |
11,444 |
26,378 |
Up 130% |
| YORK (Rock Hill and Charlotte, N.C., suburbs) |
8,430 |
21,231 |
Up 152% |
| BERKELEY (Charleston suburbs) |
8,673 |
17,031 |
Up 96% |
| AIKEN (Aiken and Augusta, Ga., suburbs) |
14,472 |
23,859 |
Up 65% |
| A Sampling of Other Counties…. |
| Resort-Oriented |
| BEAUFORT (Hilton Head) |
10,030 |
21,196 |
Up 111% |
| Academic-Oriented |
| PICKENS (Clemson U.) |
8,252 |
17,733 |
Up 115% |
| Black Majority |
| ALLENDALE |
297 |
632 |
Up 113% |
| WILLIAMSBURG |
876 |
2,544 |
Up 190% |
| "Speedway" Vote |
| DARLINGTON |
2,893 |
6,892 |
Up 138% |
| "Robertson Country" |
| JASPER |
362 |
1,256 |
Up 247% |
| UNION |
1,010 |
3,385 |
Up 235% |
| ABBEVILLE |
1,162 |
3,122 |
Up 169% |
|
Note: Turnout figures from this year's South Carolina primary are based on nearly complete but unofficial returns.
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